FC Goa have produced the most dramatic turnaround in the Hero Indian Super League so far. In the first half of the league stage, Goa were languishing at the bottom of the table and rarely showed any indication of making it to the top four. But since the start of the second phase, they have not lost a single game and have even qualified for the knockouts.Head coach Zico thinks this is a remarkable achievements which he is proud of. “Of course, it is one of the greatest moments of my career. From being at the bottom of the table to reaching the semi-finals with a match to spare is not easy,” the Brazilian legend said at the pre-match press conference on the eve of their last round match against Atlético de Kolkata. The two teams meet at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.Zico remained tight-lipped though about the team composition for tomorrow and refused to throw light on whether he would like to keep the momentum going by putting out an unchanged XI or testing the bench strength. “We will declare the team one and a half hour before the match,” he stated. Zico lavished praise on their formidable opponents, saying that they are a “great team” and “it is because of their quality they have reached so far”.Zico also played down the prospects of any confrontation with the hosts going by the ill-tempered first leg encounter in Goa. “I have asked my boys to go out and play football only,” he quipped. Lastly, when asked about whom he would prefer to face in the semi-finals, Zico replied, “We don’t have to choose anyone, we came here, we have qualified, and we are ready to face anyone.”Goa left-back Debabrata Roy, who was also present at the press conference, gave full credit to the legendary Brazilian for their turnaround. “It was not that we were not playing well, but we were pretty anxious, as results were going against us. It was tough to keep our morale high,” he said. “But our coach always showed his faith in us, he kept motivating us to perform better.” Roy also revealed that he played his first international match against this legendary coach. “I am just in awe with him, I am enjoying every moment playing under him, and it is like a dream,” he confessed.Roy dismissed the idea that the home team’s future is dependant on their performance against his side. “Atlético de Kolkata are a great team, they have their own quality, but I guess they are going through a bad patch,” he observed.
